Afternoon tea is not just drinking tea, in the afternoon. Traditionally, afternoon tea is a light meal eaten between 4-6pm. It originated amongst the wealthy in England, as something to tide them over until dinner time. From there, it has spiralled into a decadent and luxurious affair. Usually served on a tiered stand, you can expect scones (with clotted cream and jam), sandwiches, and a variety of cakes/baked goods for dessert. Oh, and they'll give you some tea, too. I was born to do this shiet.

Ever since I discovered that the Fairmont Chateau Laurier (a beautiful historic castle-like hotel, in the heart of Ottawa) did an afternoon tea service, I've been DYINGGGG to go. Finally, I just made the reservation (ps - you need to make a reservation), rallied up my girlies, and did the damn thang. Weeeeeeeee!!!!

The tea service is held in Zoe's lounge, named after Sir Wilfred's beloved wife, Zoe Laurier. The decor in both the hotel and the lounge is beautiful.

There are two tea services to choose from: a Traditional Tea, and a slightly more expensive Canadian Tea (there's also a Little Prince and Princess tea for kids, too cute!). We all decided on the Canadian Tea. Yolo. To start, we were brought ice wine marinated strawberries.

And, tea. I had Darjeeling for the first time! (The name intrigued me. Darjeeling, it just sounds so exotic. Like something a celebrity would name their child.)

The tea cart!

Then, our tiered stands arrived. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've had afternoon tea once before: they brought one tiered stand for the table, and just kept replacing the sandwiches and scones as they disappeared into our bellies. This time however, we each got our own!!! And I was ok with that.

The scones were phenomenal!!!!!!!!! I seriously luv clotted cream. Could eat dat stuff all day. And the service was great. A friendly gentleman with glasses. I wish I remembered his name. Well done, sir! Be warned: the Canadian Tea is A LOT of food. I felt like I needed to be rolled out of that place afterwards. Whatever. The sandwiches and desserts were good! Somewhere around average. Not like it really mattered. Afternoon tea is all about the experience. A fancy afternoon of lady bonding with my fancy lady friends. In a castle! (kind of).

Afternoon tea would make a great gift for mom on Mother's Day! Also a good idea for entertaining if you have a friend visiting from out of town. The Chateau Laurier is a historic and beautiful part of Ottawa. Take some time afterwards to wander the hotel's corridors and ballroom. And make sure to stop at the loo on your way out ;) (... but seriously, it's nice in there!!)